10/06/2005

mike is still sick. (elaine calls him her 'sick puppy.') i know how something as minor as a bad cold can really wear you down so mike, get better. i called elaine to see what items they were grabbing from democracy now (her and mike) and tried to avoid those as well as the ones common ills members noted in c.i.'s entry today (read that entry, especially the opening).

so i'm going with two items. c.i. went with three and elaine and mike will go with two that are different from c.i.'s (elaine and mike are doing their usual running commentaries so they will be going with the same two items). my point is that if you read this site and those sites, you're getting seven of the headlines today.

Ex-Bush Official Indicted in Abramoff CaseIn Washington, a federal grand jury has indicted the Bush administration's former chief procurement official for making false statements and obstructing investigations into Republican lobbyist Jack Abramoff. The official - David Safavian - is facing five felony counts.

oh the good times just keep on coming from the bully boy administration. changing the tone in d.c.? yes, bully boy has. it's 1 criminal after another. the only accountability from the administration comes when indictments come from outside of it.

the gang that can't do much more than lie straight faced sees another member go down. and not in the good way!

Bush Warns About Avian Flu EpidemicIn medical news, President Bush is warning that the country could face another avian flu epidemic and that the military might be needed to enforce quarantines and other emergency measures. He discussed this during Tuesday's press conference. Health and Human Services Secretary Mike Leavitt has said preparing for such an outbreak is the most important health preparedness issue facing the country. The last such outbreak was in 1968. The deadliest occurred in 1918 when as many as 50 million people died around the world including over 600,000 in the United States. Meanwhile scientists have just announced they have reconstructed the 1918 Spanish flu virus and found that it was a bird flu that jumped directly to humans.

awhile back, and no link because i can't find it but it's somewhere at the common ills in the last 2 weeks, in passing, c.i. made the point that someone needs to explain to wesley clark that 'pentagon! pentagon! pentagon!' was not the answer. c.i. just made it in passing, didn't dwell on it but clark was doing his white man's version of the star jones routine - where he goes around say 'i'm a general' the way she says 'i'm a lawyer.'

we do not live in a military dictatorship and when clark makes the idiotic comments that prompted c.i.'s aside, i am really thankful he dropped out of the primary race. his 'expertise' becomes a blind spot because he can't think outside of his narrow, little box. that makes his military service a liability if he were president.

i am sick and tired of hearing every namby, pamby whine that 'we need to be safe' and trading everything this country has stood for just so they can 'feel' safe. it reminds me of some guys i've slept with who i have had to constantly reassure with faked moans and groans. it destroys the experience for me and they're going to destroy the country for all of us.

c.i. wrote about the issue this morning (based on a story in the new york times) and said this needs to be a national dialogue. it does need to be. before bully boy starts further code speak, we need to seriously, as a nation, discuss this. if there is a flu outbreak, we won't be able to have the conversation then. so let's be grown ups and have it now.

here's my part. i don't believe the government sends the military into states. each state has their own peace keeping forces including police officers. the responsibility is the state's. that's 1 thought.

you do not turn an area in this country over to the military. not today, not tomorrow. it goes against the reasons this nation was founded and it goes against all we're supposed to stand for.liberals and conservatives should have common ground on this unless they're scared little babies looking for mommy and daddy to solve all their problems.

i talked to elaine about this and her feelings (which she said i could note) were that if there was an outbreak in chicago, it wouldn't stay in chicago. chicago has a huge number of visitors and by the time the outbreak was known, you would have already had people come and go. you are looking at the possibility, if the outbreak occurred in a major city, of it quickly spreading around the country. so illinois would be under military control immediately and that would quickly be followed by other states. it's very likely that the entire country would be under military occupation.

that's not america, people. start talking about this now. you can't wait until an outbreak. you can't object after a plan is being operated. speak out now. loudly.

Focus on the Fool's James Dobson claims to have "inside" information from the one responsible for converting her (presumably, either the preacher at her church or Miers' phone chum who's a judge) and has spoken to Karl Rove. He's vouching for Miers. Kirkpatrick notes that Dems are on the sidelines here. Why is that? She's not qualified. If George Will (of all people) can make that point, why can't Democrats?The attitude seems to be "Oh, let them fight amongst themselves and then we'll step in." That's not how you defeat this nomination. Ed Gillispie and others are being sent out. The "debate" will be shut down at some point. Now is when Democrats need to be speaking up and raising the issue that she's not qualified. This is the highest role for a judge in this country. They failed to make that point (as a party) with regard to Robertson. They appear unable to today as well. Why Republicans are squabbling and questioning the nomination, Democrats should be repeating, "She's not qualified" over and over.There's a real danger here and it's when the squabble dies down. The nation may look at it, the squabble, as a vetting process in and of itself. And if Dems wait to bring up serious criticism until the "debate" is over, people may take the attitude of "This has already been settled. Why are they bringing it up now?"Democrats need to take (and show) some leadership here. Harry Reid won't do it. He doesn't know how to be a leader. But the way you defeat the nomination is by raising questions while Republicans are as well. Not waiting to see what stuck because the reality is that its highly unlikely that they won't stifle their own disagreements (Republicans) and come together around Miers. When that happens, it's too damn late for Dems to try to raise issues and concerns.You do it now. While people are seeing Republicans question Miers' capabilities. Let's use an example. Rebecca, Mike, Seth, Dona, Cedric and Betty are going to lunch. Rebecca and Mike argue over where to go. They finally agree on one place. At which point, after they've agreed, Seth says, "I don't want to go there, I want to go ___." Betty, Cedric and Dona may look at Seth and think, "Why did you wait to bring this up? We've already decided."That's what will happen if Democrats don't start getting vocal. This could even be smart strategy on the part of Republicans. Before they come together, they air the appearance of a debate (from their own party) and it then appears that all issues were raised and addressed. So when Dems finally find their voices, the public may be weary and think, "Let's just go eat already!"

i find it interesting that mike and i would be the 1s fighting! i'm joking. i appreciated being noted and linked to. c.i.'s analogy is accurate. if democrats do not get into this discussion now the attitude later will be 'oh we've already been over and over this.'

10/05/2005

so it's supposedly fall and we've got another supreme court nominee who thinks 'secrecy' is how you demonstrate you are fit to serve on the court.

harriet miers. aunt harriet from bewitched?

i have some e-mails from tess, alan and boyd, among others, and i'll tell you to check the common ills tonight for more on your questions.

but here's my thing. she strikes me as a prude. i'm not seeing how a prude is going to help me by being on the court. i see how she'll help corporations. i see how she'll help bully boy.if she makes the court and he's charged with anything, will she have to excuse herself?

Bush Defends Pick of Harriet MiersIn Washington, President Bush held a daytime press conference on Monday and spent most of the time defending his selection of Harriet Miers as his nominee to the Supreme Court. The selection of Miers has been widely criticized by conservatives because so little is known about her personal politics. She has never served as a judge. Miers Is "On The Extreme End of the Anti-Choice Movement" Later in the press conference, President Bush said he did not recall ever sitting down with Miers to discuss her view on abortion. But a former colleague of Miers' says her stance on abortion is clear. Lorlee Bartos - who ran Miers 1989 campaign for Dallas City Council - said "She is on the extreme end of the anti-choice movement. I think Harriet's belief was pretty strongly felt. I suspect she is of the same cloth as the president."

the woman who ran her campaign says of miers 'she is on the extreme end of the anti-choice movement.' that's the woman c.i. was talking about this morning when critiquing the new york times coverage:

Such as when her former campaign manager for city council, who's been quoted elsewhere, is suddenly rather weak on Miers' abortion stance. Did the Times downplay what the woman actually said?

i think we have the answer to that.

here's the way the new york times presented it:

In a discussion with her campaign manager in 1989, Ms. Miers said she had been in favor in her younger years of a woman's right to have an abortion, but her views evolved against abortion, influenced largely by her born-again religious beliefs, said Lorlee Bartos, a Democratic campaign consultant in Dallas who managed Ms. Miers's City Council campaign.

they say they spoke with bartos who has pubicly stated that miers is on the 'extreme end of the anti-choice movement.' those are strong words and were apparently too strong for the new york timid which is why bartos' opinion gets so watered down in today's paper.

i just want to know if we're all supposed to be silent again and, cross our fingers, dems will take care of the candidate? it didn't happen with roberts.

i'm calling this ugh because for over 2 hours tonight, the program blogger has been down and you couldn't log in to write. mike lost his post. he wrote it and was going to post it at 7:03 p.m. and then head to his friend's debate but he hits post and gets this stupid error message. i think we're all pretty sick of blogger and of all the damn problems this program has. but it wouldn't kill any 1 if on your log in screen it would tell you 'blogger will be going down in 1 hour for maintance.' mike would have written a shorter post. he was really mad when i talked to him on the phone and there's no reason he should have lost that post because the people in charge of blogger don't have the sense to provide you with some sort of warning when you log in.

i remember when i started, i didn't know what i was doing and i still don't. i play it by ear or by e-mail.

sherry said she agreed with beatrice, it might be nice to get paul walker down on all 4s and enjoy sitting on 'his haunches' while he gives you rides around the house.

i should have, however, made some rules for our latest poll. in case anyone's forgotten, beatrice wants to know which guy you'd want to see make out with the hot, hot paul walker and who would be the top and who would be the bottom?

7 people (4 women, 3 men) have e-mailed suggesting tom welling and they all say he'd be the top and paul walker would be the bottom.

i have no problem with sexy nips paul walker being the bottom or the top but tom welling is so gross. that hair does nothing for me. it looks like a really bad perm ad from the 80s.

On a completely different note, I have to say that I really enjoyed Rebecca's picture post celebrating Paul Walker's nips! Truly, a woman after my own heart! Paul Walker was once just the sort of blond pretty boy I lusted after back in the She's All That/Varsity Blues days, but he's matured into a sort of rugged sex appeal, less pretty and blond, that still earns him a spot in the top ten on my Celebrities I'd Fuck list! Mr. Walker would look even better with a bit of chest hair, I might add. He's already got a sexy treasure trail that I'd LOVE to follow.See, even when things are looking down, you can always take a moment to enjoy some healthy, old fashioned lust for some celebrity beefcake!

seth, i hear you. in these bully boy days, sometimes the only thing to motivate you to get out of bed in the morning is a hormonal reaction.

White House, in terms of time and resources? And if so, make it public." No answer.

. . . from "Ralph Nader Debates Fmr. Boston Univ. Law School Dean on Miers Nomination to the Supreme Court" on today's Democracy Now! and was selected by Marcia and Third Party. AMY GOODMAN: What have you been writing to Harriet Miers?RALPH NADER: Well, we're trying to find out whether Karl Rove, during the 2004 election, obeyed federal law and properly allocated the time he spent in the White House on political activity, the resources he spent in the White House on political activity from his taxpayer funded role as special assistant to the President, performing duties that are well defined. And we can't get an answer. We wrote her -- Harriet Miers, that is -- in March, asking for an allocation to be made public, if there was an allocation, and there was no answer. We wrote her on the 18th of July, and there was no answer. And today, I'm writing President Bush, asking that that allocation be made public and if there is no allocation, what is his explanation under federal law?The performance by Harriet Miers on this matter is not trivial. Karl Rove was the architect of President Bush's re-election campaign. Those were the words that President Bush used on the celebration after the election last November. And here we have the counsel to the President, Harriet Miers, a nominee to the Supreme Court of the United States, refusing to answer a simple letter that basically says, "Did Karl Rove obey federal law 5-USC-7321 and have an accounting, separating his duties in the White House, in terms of time and resources? And if so, make it public." No answer.

10/03/2005

ABC News: Bush & Cheney Involved In Discussions Over CIA LeakOn Sunday ABC News host George Stephanopoulos said his sources told him that President Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney were involved in the discussions about Valerie Plame. "A source close to this told me this week, that President Bush and Vice President Cheney were actually involved in some of these discussions," Stephanopoulos said. Little is known about President Bush's role except that he spent more than an hour answering questions from special prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald.

i was getting my hair done today and therese had to stop to because we were both listening to the woman next to us who was getting highlights and going on about how fitzgerald had enough to indict the white house up to the bully boy and that the military was already prepared to escort bully boy out of the oval office if he refuses to go.

what do you make of that? t and i went out to lunch after and we were convinced the woman had to be missing a loose screw or 2. i mean i would love it to be true but it seems more wishful thinking than anything based on fact.

t said that if that were to happen, big if, that the easiest thing would be to say 'hey we've counted these ballots and john kerry did win.' t means that if the 'system' truly were against the bully boy and wanting him gone, that would be the easiest way.

we started fantasizing about the military escorting bully boy out of office in chains. it's a great fantasy but i really don't see it happening. maybe the woman knew something that i didn't but she was wrong about the highlights (they were too young for her, women over 50 should think twice before getting shades of poster color red put in their hair). i think she's just heard something from some 1 and inflating it and the person she heard it from inflated it as well.

to pull a c.i. 'i could be wrong.' but i really don't see it happening.

paul walker does have sexy nips. they just beg to be tickled and played with. a little kiss, a little suck. those are perky nips.

beatrice e-mailed to say 'and you said you didn't like smooth guys!' i don't know. does he wax?he doesn't look like he does. most blonde boys either have furry chests that are just carpets (think robert redford) or they're usually smooth. there's a little in between on that, but from my own experience, not much.

beatrice wondered if i would still think his nips were pretty if they were surrounded with hair?

yes, i would.

if they stuck out the way they do, demanding attention, i would think they were pretty regardless.

beatrice says paul walker is her's and her's alone. she said it's his butt that's his best feature and she would make him get down on all 4s and she'd ride him around her condo. beatrice, despite the arguing over who has dibs on paul, you sound like an interesting gal!

she just discovered paul walker in the lead up to this film, into the blue, coming out so i'll do her a solid and steer her towards joy ride which features some lovely shots of paul walker's butt.

beatrice wanted me to do a survey so here's her question. paul walker has to make out with a hot guy in front of you. you get to pick the guy. who do you pick? and is paul a pitcher or a catcher or versitile?

so if you have an idea there, e-mail and we'll note the wilder 1s here.

elaine asked me to note c.i.'s 'should this marriage be saved?' and i have no problem doing so because it's amazing piece and 1 that should be read. she's a bit surprised that like our dems in congress so many people online are too scared to call for the troops home now. if you are on the fence, please read c.i.'s 'should this marriage be saved?' we really need to think about what's going on in iraq. i'll also add that everyone should check out seth in the city. i'm glad there's another blogger in the community who's not afraid to write about sexy male hotties.

10/02/2005

C.I.: Thank you, Betty. For additional resources on literacy, you can check out America's Literacy Directory which will provide statistics as well as inform you of literacy programs in your area, for adults, for children and for the learning disabled. Rebecca of Sex and Politics and Screeds and Attitude joins us now to give us the latest on the world of nature.Rebecca: The Independent of London reports that "scientists will warn this week" that species are dying at a faster rate than was previously thought. As Artic ice continues to shrink for the fourth year in a row, polar bears, among other species, are increasingly at risk. The warmer temperature upsets the natural cycle of the polar bear, the thinning ice provides them with less of a habitat, and hungry and with less of an area to roam in, they go into towns where they are shot.C.I.: Rebecca, as the Artic ice decreases, it turns to something, which is water. While the ice reflects the sun's rays back into space, the water absorbs them thereby increasing the global temperature. Correct?Rebecca: Correct, and the BBC reports findings that, if the shrinkage continues, by 2060 "there may be no summer ice" in the Artic "at all."C.I.: For most of the Bully Boy's tenure, there has been denial that global warming was occurring even in the face of last year's Pentagon report that found global warming to be a threat to humanity. Jeff Goodall, writing in Rolling Stone, has noted that the naysayers have now turned from denial to propositions that what we're looking at now is only more beach time, summer weather. Did you find any happy talk in the wake of this news?Rebecca: One report that I found interesting from the headline was Aljazeera's "Global warming may boost oil industry." However, at present, when you try to access the article you get a message of server error. Australia's ABC had nothing on global warming in the last few days; however, they did carry a story entitled "Oceans becoming more acidic: scientists." The report details the increase, by 50%, in carbon dioxide in the ocean water. For those who skipped science classes, humans expell carbon dioxide but take in oxygen to breathe. The oceans are made up of many things but as a water based body, they are made up of H2O mean hydrogen and oxygen. The increase in carbon dioxide, though little noted elsewhere, is not good news on its own. When combined with the news of the Artic ice as well as the decrease in glaciers, we're looking at a very troubling situation that all countries should be seriously addressing. In terms of sea life, sea shells will be effected, as well as basic structure, by the carbon dioxide increase and it will enter the food chain. Currently, there is a call for action on December 3rd, similar to the demonstrations in D.C. recently, to come together and insist that the issues of global warming be addressed. Quickly in other news, an excavation in Creete has unearthed the statues of Greek goddesses Athena and Hera thought to be toppled in 367 A.D. by an earthquake. The BBC reports that in the Congolese forest, wild gorrillas have been observed using simple tools "to test the depth of muddy water and to cross swampy areas." In July, astronomers said they'd discovered a tenth planet, known as Xena, and now the Associated Press reports that what's being called a moon has been observed orbiting around the planet.C.I.: Thank you for that report, Rebecca. From reports of Xena, we now turn to Ty, of The Third Estate Sunday Review, who'll be reporting on events in Bali.